‘Blue Is The Warmest Color’ Nabs France’s Prix Louis DellucFrance’s prestigious Prix Louis Delluc has gone to Blue Is The Warmest Color. The Cannes Palme d’Or winner directed by Abdellatif Kechiche is famously not France’s Oscar entry this year due to the timing of its release, but just nabbed a Golden Globe nomination and has an Indie Spirit nom as well as a handful of critics’ prizes. Cannes President Gilles Jacob oversees the jury for the Delluc award, which was established in 1937. Last year’s winner was Benoit Jacquot’s Farewell, My Queen. The best first film Delluc went this year to Vandal by Hélier Cisterne.

Sergio Leone Estate Launching IPO Of Leone Film GroupThe heirs of spaghetti Western maestro Sergio Leone are planning an IPO of the Leone Film Group to kick off Wednesday. The company is eyeing a listing on Milan’s small-cap market and, according toThe Wall Street Journal, is hoping to raise about €17M with a sale of a 20% stake. The move is designed to help expand the company’s 400-title film library, its own production output and to sign more distribution agreements with U.S. filmmakers. The group has a deal with DreamWorks and also has picked up such recent titles as Ron Howard’s Rush and Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street. Leone’s heirs, Andrea and Raffaella, are also looking to pitch their father’s brand to a younger audience. The pair has bought back rights to most of Leone’s movies and is now looking to make deals for spaghetti western-style areas in U.S. theme parks, the Journal report says.

Icon Film Distribution Hires Two Senior Execs Icon Film Distribution, which is relaunching in the UK after being acquired by investment firm New Sparta in October, has made two senior executive appointments. Allan Jamieson is joining the company as Financial Controller, and Chris Warrington is boarding as Head of Marketing. Jamieson is a former Momentum Pictures exec, and Warrington was formerly with PR agency Organic.

‘Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ Series To Continue With Fourth NovelDavid Lagercrantz has been hired to pen a fourth installment of the Girl With The Dragon Tattooseries by author Stieg Larsson, its Swedish publishers said. BBC News reported that he will write a new story about the characters of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomqvist, which is due for publication in August 2015. The book will follow on from the tale of murder, corruption and family secrets told in the original trilogy — which has sold more than 75M copies worldwide and spawned movies — and feature its central players. Some plot lines from the existing novels will be picked up, while Lagercrantz is likely to add his own touches. Larsson had started work on a fourth novel when he died in 2004 at 50.

Fox Hungary Set for February Launch On Telekom PlatformFox is moving into Hungary with the launch of TV channel Fox Hungary on the Telekom pay-TV platform. The channel goes live on February 4 and will premiere series including The Walking Dead, The Simpsons, 24: Live Another Day, Da Vinci’s Demons and The Bridge. Fox Hungary will broadcast 18 hours daily. The launch in Hungary is a further step in Fox International Channels’ European growth plan for the flagship brand. In the past year, it has expanded into Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Norway, and the UK.